Tag Archives: Morning (7am-12pm)

Residential, Townhouse / Condominium

Ridgefield, WA – Sprinkler system extinguishes fire in residential condo; No injuries reported

A fire sprinkler saved the day for a Ridgefield family whose stove caught fire Thursday morning, said Tim Dawdy, Clark County Fire & Rescue spokesman.

About 8 a.m., Clark County Fire & Rescue responded to a kitchen fire at 184 N. 43rd Place in Ridgefield. Someone was cooking fries in oil when the stove caught fire and burned the kitchen cabinets, he said.

But the home, a condo in a new development in the north Clark County city, had fire sprinklers, which quickly extinguished the blaze before it spread. By the time firefighters arrived, the only thing left to do was mop up the water.

“These simple, inexpensive fire sprinklers really do their job,” Dawdy said. Neither condo on either side of the unit was damaged.

Three adults live at the condo, Dawdy said. No one was injured. There were no children or pets in the home.

Apartment Building, Residential

Norman, OK – Arson fire apartment complex is put out by sprinkler system

Officers say James Cox, 23, has admitted that last Thursday he broke several windows at a shopping center located off Alameda St., as well as others on the west side of town. Police say these damages surpass $4,000.  One Supercuts employee says Cox was spotted on security footage around 4:00 AM tipping trash cans into store windows. Police say 6 to 8 were damaged in total.

“When I walked in and locked our door, I noticed there was glass all over our floor,” says the Supercuts employee. “At that time I called police and walked up and down the sidewalk, and saw that Ace (Hardware) had been hit, we had been hit and Sally’s (Beauty Supply) had been hit.”

But hours later, around 9:30, surveillance footage caught a different crime scene. This time at the Brookview Apartments.  Someone called 911 after a fire started in one of the units.  The sprinkler system extinguished the fire before it spread.
•Dispatch: Hello
•Caller: The water is coming down? Okay. The fire is out now. We had to turn off the sprinkler system. I don’t know, someone burned the apartment down. Someone, I am not sure.

Firefighters says they later found a pile of laundry on a bed, dowsed in lighter fluid.

That apartment belonged to Cox mother according to investigators.

“They were in route to the scene when the police department called them and said that they had a person of interest that they needed to come talk to,” says Deputy Chief Mike Wilson of the Norman Fire Department.

Cox had been tracked down by officers who were using images captured hours earlier by the cameras at the Alameda shopping center.

“When our investigators showed up, he confessed to the investigators that he was the one who started the fire. Wanted to make sure no one was injured in the fire he started,” says Deputy Chief Wilson.

Cox will be in court next Tuesday.

He faces one count of First-Degree Arson and Four Counts of Malicious Injury to Property Over $1,000.

Residence Hall/Dormitory, Residential

Chestertown, MD – Sprinkler system extinguishes fire in college dormitory; No injuries reported

The Office of the Maryland State Fire Marshal is continuing its investigation of Wednesday morning’s fire in one of Washington College’s dormitories. Public Safety Director Jerry Roderick said officers observed flames and smoke in the second floor suite of Talbot House at about 11:30 a.m. as the Chestertown Volunteer Fire Department was responding. Roderick said the sprinkler system in the dorm activated, extinguishing the fire. Roderick said there was smoke and water damage to the building. No injuries were reported. The two students who were displaced will be put up in other college housing.

Storage / Warehouse, Warehouse

Hamilton, ON, Canada – Sprinkler system helps limit damage, saves structure in food warehouse fire

The facility where all food for Fortino’s supermarkets is stored and packaged suffered heavy smoke damage after a multiple-alarm fire broke out in a back storage area Friday morning.  Firefighters were called to the commercial building on Rymal Road East around 9:22 a.m. and found a large fire in a room where cardboard is stored.  The building’s sprinkler system had activated and additional firefighters were called in to take on the flames with an “aggressive interior attack,” according to department spokesperson, Claudio Mostacci.  No injuries reported  Officials say smoke from the fire caused a total of $255,000 in damage, including $233,000-worth of food. Mostacci said the city’s Health Department was called in because of the damaged food. No injuries were reported. The Ontario Fire Marshal has been called in to investigate what caused the fire.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Baton Rouge, LA – Trash compactor fire at Golden Corral restaurant limited by sprinkler system

Investigators say something thrown into the garbage compactor at a Golden Corral sparked a trash fire around lunch Wednesday.  The Baton Rouge Fire Department responded to the call on Millerville Greens Boulevard just before 11 a.m. Wednesday. Firefighters say some trash was accidentally ignited after someone tossed an unknown item into the compactor.  BRFD says the fire was contained to the compactor itself, but a sprinkler did trigger just inside the rear entrance of the business.  Firefighters say the restaurant should be able to reopen soon.

Apartment Building

Perrysburg, OH – Sprinkler system helps contain apartment fire caused by lightning strike

A fire broke out at a Perrysburg Township apartment complex Thursday after lightning may have struck the building, firefighters said.  Area firefighters responded to Tracy Creek Apartments, 29181 Tracy Rd., at 8:40 a.m. Thursday.  Residents reported hearing a loud boom. Fire officials said they believe the blaze may have been caused by a lightning strike.  The fire appeared to be contained in the top floor of buildings 29227 and 29233 — a total of four apartments, said Perrysburg Fire Chief Rudy Ruiz.  The fire triggered a sprinkler system, he said.  Four families will be displaced because of the damage, Chief Ruiz said.  No injuries were reported, and no damage estimates were immediately available. The Red Cross was contacted to assist the families. <Blog Note: Smoke does not cause a residential sprinkler system to activate – Only the substantial heat from a fire>

Apartment Building, Residential

San Antonio, TX – Arson fire at apartment extinguished by sprinkler system

Bexar County fire investigators have arrested a woman for allegedly setting fire to an apartment from which she was being evicted. An arrest warrant affidavit said a neighbor called 911 early Monday morning after noticing water pouring into her home from the apartment upstairs. She also heard fire alarms going off inside her own home. Firefighters arrived a short time later and saw hazy smoke inside that upstairs apartment, located in the 5500 block of Missions Bluffs. Once they entered the unit, they determined that the fire had been extinguished by the sprinkler system. The affidavit said arson investigators later found evidence that someone had intentionally set fire to mattresses in two different bedrooms. It said they also determined that Immanie Rogers, 23, lived alone inside that apartment and was facing eviction. They found her eviction notice on top of one the mattresses that had been set on fire, the affidavit said. Investigators said they obtained surveillance video showing Rogers’ car leaving the property shortly before the fire broke out. She was arrested Tuesday on a charge of arson.

Athletic Club/Sports Facility, Other Business

Wayne, NJ – Laundry fire at 24-Hour Fitness is kept from spreading by sprinkler system

A fire broke out in the laundry room of the 24-Hour Fitness on Route 23 in Wayne on Thursday morning.  The two-alarm fire was contained to separate laundry baskets and was mostly kept at bay by the sprinkler system, said Wayne Fire Chief John Gabriel.  “It was a very easy fire,” Gabriel said. “It was knocked down in less than five minutes.”  No injuries were reported to firefighters or customers.

Other Business, Place of Worship

Nisswa, MN – Sprinkler system tackles kitchen fire at Timberwood Church

Timberwood Church did not go up in flames thanks to a sprinkler system that put out a kitchen fire at the Nisswa place of worship in the early morning hours of Friday, April 20.

No one was in the building, which is along Highway 371, at about 9 a.m. when the Nisswa Fire Department responded and the Brainerd Fire Department was contacted for mutual aid, but not needed.

“There was a fire alarm that went through our alarm company to the Nisswa Fire Department … and they discovered smoke in the building,” said the Rev. John Just, pastor of the church.

“My understanding is Brainerd Fire also had two vehicles that responded, but were canceled before they arrived on site.”

The self-described “Bible-based, outreach-oriented church” is nestled among the trees near Gull Lake and located about 20 minutes north of Brainerd in Crow Wing County.

“It looked like the building was full of smoke,” Just said after arriving at the church. “It appears to have started on a stovetop.”

Nisswa Fire Chief Shawn Bailey was on the scene and said firefighters upon their arrival discovered a small kitchen fire that was already put out.

“The sprinkler system had activated and put the fire out. We gained entry through the end of the kitchen and from that point, we were able to verify where the fire was,” Bailey said.

Just said, “They found the water flowing out of the kitchen.”

Staff walked around barefoot inside the church as the water was being suctioned up from the carpet area by the kitchen.

In 2004, Timberwood Church’s first pastor was hired and began. The church’s first public worship service was scheduled for Easter of that same year, according to its website.

For five years, congregation members would meet at the Nisswa Community Center, and in 2009 the church relocated to its current location off Highway 371.

“There was really no structural damage to the building. We’ll need to do some water cleanup, and we will be open for services on Sunday morning at 9 and 10:30.”

Other Business

Sussex, WI – Fire at large printing and fulfillment center put out with help from sprinkler system

Quad/Graphics employees extinguished a small fire at the facility in Sussex on Tuesday morning, April 17.  According to an official with Quad/Graphics, the fire started in the paper recycling area. It happened in a piece of equipment that shreds and bails excess paper. The fire was put out quickly by employees and the internal sprinkler. The Sussex Fire Department was also called to the building as precaution. Thankfully, no one was hurt and there was no major damage.